The Importance of Compressive Strength in Materials

In 1463 there was an Italian sculptor named Augustino D'Ducchio and he was commissioned by the Florence Cathedral, also known as the Duomo. Marble has virtually no tensile strength. So marble is not meant to sway or bend. It has really high compressive strength. The crystalline structure of marble makes it strong enough to support the force of a mountain pushing down on it. But it's brittle enough to burst apart when it struck with a hammer and chisel.